2004 Q4 Sees Exec Hiring at Fastest Pace in Three
Years

January 19, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Outplacement
firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has announced that
fourth quarter executive and managers hiring was at its
fastest pace in more than three years, a good signal for the
economy in the months to come.

The median job search for managers and executives hired
in the fourth quarter was 3.3 months, according to a press
release. This is the shortest duration since the third
quarter of 2001, when the median job search took three
months. The fourth quarter job search was 17.5% faster than
the previous quarter, when the median job search took four
months. The figure, measured by the Job Market Index,
peaked in the first quarter of 2003 with a 4.2 month
duration.

The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also
found that there was increased hiring of managers and
executives. Over 850,000 new jobs at this level were
created in 2004, according to Challenger.

For 2005, financial services, health care, construction,
engineering and certain areas of technology and
manufacturing are expected to have a high hiring level.

These managers and executives are not sacrificing salary
to get jobs quicker either, Challenger found. In the fourth
quarter, 86% of those hired won equivalent or better
salaries than in their last position. This is up from 78%
in the same quarter of 2003.

In total, 14% of managers and executives relocated for
new jobs and 44% changed industries, Challenger found.

Challenger suggested in its release that these figures
bode well for the economy as senior level positions are the
first to be filled at the onset of an expansion.